


Flicker

by NowhereLand



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Absolutely no plot, Brief Cuddling, F/M, Fluff, One Shot, Pre-Relationship, season 5 era
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-17
Updated: 2020-11-17
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:48:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27600943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NowhereLand/pseuds/NowhereLand
Summary: Michonne awakes one night on the road after Terminus. She allows herself a brief feeling of safety.
Relationships: Rick Grimes/Michonne
Comments: 3
Kudos: 14





	Flicker

**Author's Note:**

> I don't typically write Richonne fic but I wrote this for a friend awhile ago and it's just been sitting on my computer. Times are tough and TWD content is sparse, so I thought it best to share it with y'all.

Michonne awoke to a pop from the fire and the crush of someone’s boot on the remaining ember. The temperature had dropped overnight, and the air was filled with a mixing of crispness and the sound of soft breathing and snores from the group. She didn’t open her eyes because, for one, she desperately wanted to go back to sleep; and two; she was afraid of what she might see.

There was a heat against her side, warming her against the cold night. A rough fabric under her cheek and her nose filled with the smell of something entirely too familiar. One of her hands was pressed against skin, fingers wrapped around what could only be someone’s arm. 

She knew who it was. She’d settled down next to him and his kids earlier in the evening. It was her new position she supposed. Their trio had developed a rhythm while they were out on the road, an easiness that reminded her of before the turn. An odd family unit, taking down the undead and rummaging through houses. They ate meager meals and sometimes even laughed, voices carrying through the woods or an abandoned gas station. Her and Rick had slept next to each other often. Back to back or leaning against one another in the backseat if a car, but this? This was new. Her body pressed into his side, face to his shoulder, clinging to the part of him closest to her. His knee was bent, caught between her own as he slept. 

She dared to begin opening her eyes. Rick was still next to her, captured in her grasp, asleep on his back, chest rising and falling slowly. She could see Carl on his other side, Judith securely pressed to his body, a place she rarely left after being reunited with him only a few days ago. They all slept soundly, a sight that still managed to make her breathe a sigh of relief. 

Terminus had nearly killed them all. Michonne prided herself on being level headed, unafraid in the face of chaos. Terminus had been different. The whole group was now intent on staying together, an intense bond that she tried to deny was growing. There was a constant, lingering fear that something terrible would end up happening, tearing them apart all over again. And yet she was utterly intent on protecting them. The Grimes first and foremost. Her small unit; her family when she allowed herself to admit it. Her eyes raked over the kids again, knowing she would kill for them. Knowing she would teach them the heinous things they needed to know to survive in this world. It didn’t bring her joy to know that. Carl had already seen enough to scar him for a lifetime; and Judith, with her round face and soft curls, would have a knife pushed into her hands as soon they were big enough to hold one. 

Michonne felt her grip on their father tighten, firm and secure. She trusted him; intensely and deeply; him being there was one of the few things she could rely on. Constant. Always there. He made her feel safe sometimes, as safe as you could be in this world. She squeezed her eyes shut at the thought. That feeling was dangerous, and she knew damn well that it could end up being very stupid. 

Opening her eyes slowly, she allowed herself to watch him for several moments. He was handsome, even with the uncut curls falling onto his forehead and the untrimmed beard: especially the beard. She gently released her grip from him, moving her hands back to her chest. She clasped her fingers together, pulling the fist against the little exposed skin there. The palms of her hands still warm from his body heat. Her nose and cheek were still pressed into his shoulder, the paper thin t-shirt leaving a smell of wood smoke and dirt in waves. He didn’t stir.

She turned over, facing away from him, looking for a reprieve from whatever thoughts had threatened to start forming in her mind. Daryl was awake, always on watch, sitting by the fire, chin propped on his crossbow. He was looking into the low flame, the little light left casting his face in red tinted shadows.

He had seen them. She knew this because she knew that Daryl saw everything. He wouldn’t say anything. Instead he's choose to mind his business and pretend that he hadn’t seen a thing. She had come to know Daryl well enough to predict that response. But she also knew he was filing whatever he had observed away for sometime much later. There was a part of her that grew anxious at the thought, suddenly worried about whether Daryl decided to become a gossip and tell her night time secrets. It was maybe even more eerie now, with a noticeable change in him. He had become much more withdrawn and quiet, if at all possible, even more on edge. He wasn’t taking care of himself. He certainly wasn't sleeping.

She moved to stand, muscles straining and bones cracking as she stood. She took her katana in hand and made her way over to him, his eyes unmoving from the flames. 

“You sleep yet?” She whispered as she sat down on the log next to him.

“Nah,”

His eyes followed her movements as she sat down, narrowing them as she got comfortable. He was trying to read her, searching for something or trying to put together hints in his head. It was unnerving, and she felt herself shift nervously.

“What?”

He met her eyes. She saw a quiet acknowledgment. 

“Nothin’”

He turned back toward the fire, and Michonne allowed her eyes to follow his gaze. He had realized something, she told herself she had no idea what it was about. There was thoughtful look settled onto his face, eyebrows furrowed and mouth in a thin line. She considered prying, getting him to tell her whatever it was he had pieced together; hoping that it wasn’t what she had felt moments ago. But he had indicated the silent conversation was done, and so she averted her eyes looking into the darkness in front of them. 

“You should go to bed.” she said quietly, “I can take watch.”

“You know I don’t sleep.”

“I don’t either-“

She realized what she had said as soon as it left her mouth. She saw Daryl glance at her from the corner of her eye briefly, catching her lie.

She had just been sleeping. Soundly. For hours. Next to Rick and Carl and Judith. She breathed in a quick breath, capturing her bottom lip between her teeth. She looked at her hands, not wringing slightly in her lap. 

“I’ll try,” 

Daryl’s voice cut through the thick air suddenly. He stood up in his spot, the rustling of his clothes and deep sight loud in her head. She watched him go over toward Carol, finding a spot nearby and settling down, resting his head on his pack. His eyes stayed open, but she comforted herself in knowing that he was at least laying down. She scanned everyone else, doing a quick check. 

Rosita and Abraham were cuddled together, Eugene at their feet like a lost puppy. She couldn’t tell where Glenn ended and Maggie began. Tara sat half up against a tree. Tyreese laid between Carol and Sasha, Bob next to her. And the Grimes, still laid together, sleeping soundly as light from the fire flickered over their peaceful faces. She smiled


End file.
